Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Email is Serious Business

“Email is for serious business. Texting, Twitter and Facebook are for socializing.”

The common theme among our essay submitters? Email is for businesses and grown-ups. Social networks are fun and cool; email is featureless and for official communication only.

When Generation Y wants to catch up with friends and build relationships, they do it on Facebook. Email is a “necessary evil” (as one candidate worded it) that only grown ups, teachers and businesses use.

Consequently, teens check their email accounts less frequently than their Facebook walls. “I tend to check my phone for text messages or look on Facebook to see if I have any notifications before checking my email,” writes a finalist.

Other students admitted to checking social networks several times a day while neglecting their email accounts for days or weeks unless they were expecting important messages from a teacher, college or employer.

The good news to take away is that even though teens are checking their email accounts less frequently, they expect to hear from your brand through their inbox.

“I only use email if I have to send my teachers an assignment or check for coupons.”

“I only receive emails from my school or stores sending me coupons.”

“I have multiple email accounts for different purposes. These include signing up for cards at stores that send me offers for cheaper products.”

Millennials may reserve email for business, but that means they’re still interested in inviting businesses into their inboxes to take advantage of promotions.